Tomoeda Babylon
by YumeNoAnata
Summary: 6 years prior to their "first" meeting Syaoran made a macabre promise to Sakura underneath a cherry blossom tree. SyaoranxSakura AU
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** 6 years prior to their "first" meeting Syaoran made a macabre promise to Sakura underneath a cherry blossom tree.  
SyaoranxSakura  
AU

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**Prologue:**

Atrioventricular valves close.

Lub

Pressure falls and semi lunar valves close.

Dub

LubDubLubDubLub-

The homeostasis of the human body was destroyed when a blade of metal was stabbed through the vital myocardial muscle.

The assassin from the Li clan had killed again.

xxx

Under the Sakura tree in a deserted park in a desolate part of Tokyo, a young assassin enjoyed the sight of the sakura petals falling through the air and becoming pinker when they landed in the blood of his latest victim.

He smiled as he placed his sword cleanly back into its sheath. Underneath the Sakura trees was his preferred location of execution as the petals swirling in the wind and changing colour always made a pretty sight.

The assassin held out his hand and caught one of the falling petals which felt soft and delicate to the touch, just like the body of a human. He crushed the petals in his hand and let them fall on top of the body.

He brushed back the lock of light brown hair that had slipped into his line of sight out of the way and pulled out an ofuda so he could destroy the body.

The action reminded him of how controlled his life was. He was only 10 years old and this was already his 100th victim and he had only started officially killing people a year ago.

In fact is was exactly 1 year ago that he had undergone the induction ceremony which involved killing the person that he loved the most which was one of his 4 sisters. His mother was the one that controlled him as she passed the assassination on to him and constantly reminded him that he could never refuse to carry out an assassination due to the fact that the ceremony had bound him to the job forever.

So 10 year old Syaoran Li had spent the past 365 days killing people that he had never even known or spoken to. He didn't even know what they had done to warrant a killing by an assassin.

Due to his intensive training he had never felt any remorse or pity for the victims that he had stabbed through the heart.

All he felt was boredom... which was much worse considering that he was only 1 year into the job which he had to continue all his life until he died. Then another heir would be chosen to succeed him.

The only wish that he had was that someone would ease his boredom by killing him, hopefully before he was old enough to have children.

Having a child in the Li family meant that they were either the next one in line to carry on the job or a potential sacrifice for the induction ceremony.

If he died before he was old enough to marry, his successor would not be directly related to him in the very least.

He knew that he couldn't kill himself because he had sworn that he wouldn't during the induction ceremony and promises made during the induction were binding.

Someone else would have to kill him before he reached the age of 18, but he would have to find that person first. An average person wouldn't be able to kill an assassin as skilled as him.

Recalling that his pickup would be arriving outside the park soon and if he took too long his mother would become suspicious of him and send him off again to do some more intensive training where his mind would be conditioned so he didn't have any free thoughts, he ignited his ofuda and was about to incinerate the corpse beneath him when a voice spoke from behind him.

"What are you doing?"

He turned his head to see a young girl with short light brown hair with pigtails tied off with red bobbled hair bands sticking out on both sides of her head.

In her hand was the sealing wand for the Clow Cards.

The girl was the new Clow Card mistress.

It took Sakura Kinomoto a full 20 minutes to finally admit that she was hopelessly lost in Tokyo.

Alone, despite the sea of people that she passed.

Her class had come to Tokyo on a school trip and she had been separated him as she had stopped to gawk at the sight of an impossibly tall skyscraper and the stream of people on the busy street had cut her off from her class.

It didn't occur to Sakura, who had a reputation for excelling at sports and cuteness- at least according to her friend Tomoyo, to ask someone for help which could be attributed to the fact that everyone was moving so fast, too fast to be stopped.

As she walked further and further down the road, the crowd thinned until there were only a few people. Sakura ducked into an alleyway that looked clean and pulled her necklace out of her school uniform and transformed it into the sealing wand.

I can use the cards to help me find my way, she thought to herself.

She turned her head and a sakura tree in the distance caught her eye. The planned destination of the school trip had been Ueno Park so, without thinking logically she ran down the street and into the park.

As soon as she saw the park close up she knew that she was in the completely wrong place as this park was too small and Sakura couldn't see a shrine.

She heard a rustle of paper from behind a tree and spotted a glimpse of someone in a bright green robe so she walked over so she could ask them for directions.

Sakura poked her head around the tree and saw the green clad person, which she now knew was a boy due to his stance and hair. He set light to a yellow rectangular piece of paper with strange black markings over it. The strangest thing was that there wasn't a lighter or match in his hand, so how could he have ignited it?

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

The boy whirled round and she saw that the strange piece of paper was no longer on fire.

"Who are you?" he asked harshly and as he did she sensed that there was no kindness or warmth in him as his eyes looked cold.

"I-I'm Sakura," she squeaked. There was no harm in giving her first name as Sakura was an extremely common name in Japan.

The boy's eyes widened upon hearing her name and his eyes softened slightly before returning to their emotionless state.

"Tell me Sakura-san, do you know why sakura petals turn a pale red?"

Sakura shook her head.

The boy held out his hand and caught a petal that had been blowing in the wind.

"No, it's because they drink the blood of the corpse beneath the tree."

Sakura was horrified by the answer as, despite her lack of academic skill, she had a very kind and sympathetic heart and she always felt other people's emotions strongly.

"But isn't that person in pain?"

Syaoran blinked in surprise and his emotionless poker face dropped.

Was this destiny? He had met the Clow Card mistress as he had been contemplating death, her name was Sakura like his favourite blossom and she seemed to be very emotive on the subject of death and suffering. It was just a shame that she was too young...

But there was a way around that.

"You are the Clow Card mistress, aren't you?"

"How did you know- I mean I'm not," she fumbled to cover her mistake.

Syaoran pointed at her staff which she was absentmindedly still holding as in her haste she had forgotten to transform it back into a key.

"Hoe! But you can't use the cards, I have ownership of them."

"I'm not interested in the cards themselves, I just want to know how powerful you are," Syaoran answered.

"I passed Yue's judgement so I might have some power..." she answered hesitantly.

"Perfect," Syaoran said. He had found the ideal person for him.

Sakura stared at him curiously. The boy did seem to be a little strange as he was able to make fire out of nothing, but then she could too. Did that mean he had magic too? His outfit was something that Tomoyo would design. She squinted at the Yin and Yang symbol which she knew was Chinese.

"How old are you?" she asked suddenly. "My instincts tell me that you are close to me in age, but you look...too cold and hardhearted."

"You're very observant, Sakura-san," Syaoran commented surprisedly. "Would you like to make a contract with me?"

"A contract!?" Sakura squeaked in surprise.

"It's more of an obligation to be precise, Sakura-san, I-"

As he spoke a strong gust of wind blew through the trees and blocked Sakura's hearing momentarily so she had no idea what he had said.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you, the wind..."

Sakura never finished her sentence as darkness spread around her and she lost consciousness before she even hit the ground.

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**I'm writing this as I wanted to write an AU that was more canon and relatable ****than some of the AUs for this fandom.**


	2. First Meeting?

**Tomoeda Babylon**

**Chapter 1:**

Pink

Blood

Darkness

Sakura Kinomoto woke up with a gasp and winced as she realised that she had sat up too fast.

"It was that dream again," she said to herself puzzledly. "But it felt different this time."

Then her alarm clock went off again, pushing the significance of her recurring dream out of her head again.

Sakura pulled on her school uniform for Seijou High School and ran downstairs for breakfast whilst brushing her hair. Her brother and Kero-chan were already sitting at the table in the kitchen, to be more precise Kero-chan was sitting on the table and her brother was sitting on a chair. As she approached her brother stood up and set a plate down in her place.

"Good morning onii-chan, Kero-chan," she greeted as she sat down. "Good morning, okaa-san," she said to her mother's photo frame.

She picked up her knife and fork and ate her breakfast of pancakes at a leisurely pace as she had gotten up immediately after her alarm clock went off meaning she had plenty of time until she had to leave to get to school on time.

Her brother and Kero-chan exchanged gleeful looks.

"Sakura, don't you think that you should be eating a little faster and rushing out the door now," Toya said with an evil smirk on his face.

Sakura blinked and looked up at the clock to see that her brother was correct, she normally did leave at 8 o'clock to get to school before half past 8. She hadn't been late to school since her final year of middle school as she now always got up on time. The fact that she had got up on time today and was late raised her suspicions.

"Did one of you change the time on my alarm clock?" she asked and glared at her brother meanfully.

Kero raised his arm. "I did, your brother promised me that if I did he would make me a strawberry shortcake."

Toya grinned. "I just wanted to see you be late for High School for once. To me you'll always be the kaiju that is perpetually late for school."

His sister stamped on his foot as she rushed out the kitchen to grab her school bag. When she saw the time again she knew she wasn't going to make it on time even if she ran all the way and she couldn't use a Clow Card because it was broad daylight and she would be seen.

"Damn onii-chan, tomorrow I'm going to transform his bedroom using the Maze card so he can't get to college," Sakura muttered under her breath.

Revenge wasn't going to help her get to school on time. It wouldn't have really mattered if she was a little late on a normal day, but today there was an important Maths' test that started at half past 8 and she couldn't afford to be late for that considering her abysmal Maths' grade.

Sakura thought back to her time at elementary school, she had had used roller-skates to keep up with her brother and Yukito on the way to school. Sakura dug around in the hallway cupboard, blew a layer of dust off her roller skates and left the house.

It took a while to get accustomed to the feeling of using roller skates and the fact that they were slightly too small for her, but after 5 minutes she was happily speeding along in rhythm.

Then she turned a corner too late and was about to crash into a sakura tree when someone jumped in front of her and blocked her from hitting the tree.

"Ouch," Sakura groaned as she lifted her head to find someone else's head leaning down on her chest meaning that she had collided with the person instead of the tree. Their hair was short so she assumed it was a boy.

The boy lifted his head and stared at her silently. Sakura blinked as she took in his light brown hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing the boys' Seijou High School uniform. Sakura was about to ask him for his name when she caught sight of her watch.

"Hoe! Is that the time?" she squealed and sped off down the road, putting her accident to the back of her mind and concentrated on her impending Maths' test.

The mysterious boy straightened up from his position against the tree and stared after her.

He had met Sakura under a sakura tree again which was still his favourite blossom.

He had expected their second meeting to be a little smoother and to find that she was squashed against him was a surprise. Then she had rushed off to school before he had a chance to talk to her, but that didn't matter, he was going there anyway.

Sakura reached her classroom just as the final bell rang. She walked across the back of the classroom to her seat as the teacher started taking attendance. Her best friend, Tomoyo who sat at the table next to her, shot her a concerned look. After all, Sakura had never been late since the final day of middle school and today she had some sakura petals in her hair.

"Why are you so late?" Tomoyo whispered as quietly as she could.

"Onii-chan and Kero-chan played a prank on me," Sakura hissed back and pulled her pencil case out her school bag along with her protractor and compass.

Tomoyo nodded understandingly, knowing full well that Toya Kinomoto and Kero-chan were a dangerous combination. The teacher began to give out test papers which effectively ended their conversation.

An hour and half later, Sakura stretched her arms out and rested her face on her table. "That was one hard Maths' test. I revised a lot, but nothing seemed to make sense."

Tomoyo smiled. "I'm sure everything will be all right for you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura sat up and yawned. "After that test I don't think I can face any more schoolwork."

Her best friend's attention was distracted by the sight of Terada-sensei walking into the classroom followed by a brown haired boy with a very straight posture and a distinct way of walking. He was also staring straight at Sakura which worried her as his stare didn't seem to be friendly.

She glanced over at Sakura who was staring at the boy with wide eyes. "Do you know him?" Tomoyo enquired interestedly.

"I saw him this morning on my way to school," Sakura answered as Terada-sensei cleared his throat to attract everyone's attention.

"Everyone, we have a new pupil called Syaoran Li joining us. He would have been introduced earlier this morning if there hadn't been a Maths' test."

"It's nice to meet you all," Syaoran said without taking his eyes off Sakura.

"Li-san is originally from Hong Kong so everyone should make extra effort to help him settle in. Now, as for a seat, there is a free desk behind Kinomoto-san," Terada-sensei pointed at Sakura who squirmed in her seat.

Syaoran Li nodded and walked past Sakura to sit at the desk behind her. As he did Tomoyo noticed that his steps were silent, yet confident, like a predator which was definitely not what an average 15 year old male sounded like and she was sure that the fact that he came from Hong Kong had nothing to do with it.

He was certainly unique and had an interest in her best friend.

Tomoyo turned around a little in her seat to see if he was still staring at Sakura. To be more precise, he was glaring holes in the back of her head and Sakura was clearly aware of it as she seemed to be sweating a little.

"Good morning, Li-san," she greeted politely to see if he would switch his attention to her and stop scaring her best friend.

He didn't. "Good morning," he mumbled without taking his eyes off Sakura.

Tomoyo sighed theatrically. "Li-san, you are never going to be able to pay attention to any lessons if you continually stare at Sakura-chan."

This made him avert his attention to her and she immediately knew his staring at Sakura hadn't held any evil intent as the glare he was giving her now was deadly. Then he resumed staring at the back of Sakura's head. Sakura shot Tomoyo a fearful glance and Tomoyo shrugged in reply.

She had no idea why the new boy was so fixated upon her best friend. His stare wasn't filled with hate, but it didn't exactly contain any love either.

As soon as the bell rang for lunch, Sakura and Tomoyo left the classroom instantly due to a shared desire to escape Syaoran Li and his unyielding stare. They were walking down the stairs when Sakura felt someone touch her shoulder. Even before she turned around she knew who it was.

"Kinomoto-san. may I have a talk with you? In private," Syaoran added, mindful of her best friend's protective aura. "I will stop staring at you if you like."

Sakura and Tomoyo exchanged looks.

"What do you want to talk about?" the Clow Card mistress asked as soon as they had reached a secluded area outside. She had her hand in her pocket, ready to pull out a card if he tried anything on her.

"Will you go out with me?" was the unexpected question.


End file.
